Wednesday, October 26, 2005

Moralists, Censors and Enemies of Freedom vs. "Doom"

Lost so far in the shuffle of a geekdom relieved that ONE video game inspired film doesn't completely suck, action fans glad for something new to watch and elitist old-guard critics itching to kill the game-to-movie genre in the womb thats surrounded the release of "Doom" is the fact of why this franchise was so infamous in the first place.

Contrary to the hazy memories of many writing about the film, "Doom's" initial fame did NOT come from being the original "first-person shooter" (that was "Wolfenstein 3D," no?) or for being the first ultraviolent game (everything from "Chiller" to "Mortal Kombat" beat it to that punch.) Rather, "Doom's" big infamy came first from being it's generation's designated punching-bag for censors, moralists and other enemies of freedom to assault in the name of restricting content and speech in entertainment.

Normally this kind of labeling by the censor hordes slips away once the public comes to their senses (no rational person can take these people seriously for very long,) but "Doom's" branding stuck around much longer thanks to added pressure from the other side of the anti-freedom movement: The misguided child psychology profession of the 1990s, which took time out of it's busy work turning the next generation of creative thinkers into Ritalin Zombies to manufacture data claiming to "prove" that the game's immersive FPS play setup was responsible for making kids "aggressive." (because when you think dangerous, overstimulating behavior, sitting in front of a keyboard is the first image that jumps to mind.)

Thus, the lable stuck so profoundly that "Doom" was even blamed as having inspired the Columbine massacre despite the fact that it took place almost a decade after the game itself had slipped into memory for most fans. So, then, it was only a matter of time before the pro-censor lobby decided to use the occasion of the movie to drum up their forces once again.

What I like about the above quote is that Baer, who often gives low marks to films dealing with the supernatural because of "unholy" scenes of communication with the dead, here essentially is claiming to be able to know the thoughts of the DEAD Columbine killers. Mr. Baer, a legion of professionals and law enforcement personel, the dumbest of them more intellectually honest than most of the reviews on your site, went over this case for years and are STILL unsure as to what actually "instigated" Harris and Klebold. If you're going to place the blame on ANYTHING you'd better have proof... and we both know you do not.

Then there's the Childcare Action Project, (capalert.com,) which can be consistently counted on to out-crazy even the craziest of the pro-censor armies:http://www.capalert.com/now_playing.htm (select "Doom" from the list)"If this film is a true representation of the video game, it is no wonder why so many have such low value for life and contempt for noble behavior and wholesome language""Maybe video games are even more corruptive than films or music. Music just lets you hear about killing. Films let you hear and see killing. Video games let you hear the killing, see the killing and DO the killing though it be fantasy. A bad influence does not have to be real to influence badly. God knew what He was talking about when He old us about bad influences."

"God knew what He was talking about..." Read that part again. Here's my question for you readers: Who's super-power is more impressive? Movieguide's ability to speak to the dead, or CAP having direct communicating with God?

Yes, once again "Doom" is newsworthy and, once again, people are lining up to blame it for whatever their pet cause to be against is. All of them hoping against hope that YOU won't notice that they have an agenda beyond "looking out for the kids," and certainly that you'll never realize that that agenda is not only pro-censorship... but also anti-democracy, anti-American and, yes, anti-FREEDOM.

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About Me

Bob is a part-time independent filmmaker, part-time amateur film critic and full time Movie Geek. He is heterosexual, a pisces, and a severely lapsed Catholic. He is a tireless enemy of censorship, considers his personal politics "Libertine" and enjoys acting as a full time irritant to overly serious people of ALL political stripes.